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Chapter 7
“Entering! Young Master Barthol Penton, son of Baron Penton from the Penton territory, and Young Lady Demeyra Penton, daughter of Baron Penton from the Penton territory.”
Roy’s voice rang loudly through the hall once again.
With identical rotten smiles on their faces, Barthol and Demeyra descended the stairs together. It was obvious they were displeased by how many times the name “Penton family” had been emphasized.
“If it weren’t for you, Ray, I would’ve been in serious trouble.”
Only after the situation had settled did Roy finally let out a sigh of relief and wipe the sweat from his forehead.
To think he had almost become entangled in the succession dispute of a ducal house—worse, the Apellemion Ducal House itself. For Roy, whose greatest wish in life was simply to live quietly and eat piles of cookies baked by his wife, it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
“I told you to be careful around nobles. If you were going to take bribes, you should’ve hidden it better.”
Ray clicked her tongue in reproach.
“Th-that day, that bastard Barthol had won money at the Gideon Count’s gambling house, so he was handing out silver coins and gold trinkets to everyone in the tavern…”
“If it were me, I’d have taken the silver and bought drinks on the spot. And if I’d known he was from the Penton family, I wouldn’t have accepted even that.”
“There were rumors all over the Imperial Palace that the Apellemions and the Pentons were practically one family, so I believed it…”
“Did it never occur to you that the Pentons themselves might be the ones spreading those rumors? You could tell just from their expressions that the young lady and the Penton siblings don’t get along.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
Roy nodded heavily. Though Ray had entered the Imperial Palace as a low-ranking maid following in her father’s footsteps, she no longer needed his guidance.
Ray was sharper than he was. She instinctively grasped the habits and power dynamics of nobles that he could never understand, and she naturally learned how to deal with royalty and aristocrats.
Just moments ago, she had even saved her own father from danger.
“I always feel sorry toward you.”
“You don’t have to. It was an interesting experience for me too.”
Ray shifted her gaze deeper into the ballroom. It seemed she was following Iris’s retreating figure as it disappeared beneath the stairs.
“The Lady of Apellemion… that was your first time seeing her too, right?”
“That’s right. I heard she never showed her face outside the estate after the former duke passed away five or six years ago. Before that, she was too young to attend imperial banquets.”
“She shut herself away for five years? Someone like her?”
Ray repeated the words with a thoughtful expression.
“What kind of thoughts did she live with all that time…?”
It had been a brief encounter, but a powerful one.
Iris was unlike anyone Ray had ever met.
Whenever Ray put her mind to it and shed tears, nine out of ten people fell for it.
Either they were completely deceived by her lies, or even if they partially noticed, they would simply think, She must’ve been desperate enough to lie, and wipe away her tears.
The remaining tenth were people who, from the start, could not be swayed by the tears of a mere low-ranking maid. With those types, the answer was to immediately switch tactics and offer a deal instead.
For example, when the Second Prince once hid his lover in the gardens and Ray discovered it, he had flown into a rage and tried to blame her instead. Ray calmly told him, “I’ll let you know when His Majesty is occupied with meetings, so please send Lady Setora out during that time.” Thanks to that, she had managed to calm the prince’s anger.
That was how Ray had survived.
Her family, once trapped in severe hardship, had become far better off after she found employment. Her low birth meant she could never hope for grand promotions, but at least they could live.
But Iris was different.
Ray didn’t know Iris, yet Iris knew her. From that moment, Ray had already lost.
What was even stranger was Iris’s reaction after seeing through her lie. She neither fell for it nor became angry. Instead, she simply made a counteroffer.
As though she acknowledged Ray’s excuses and deceptions as a kind of talent.
As though she saw Ray herself beyond all the lies and excuses.
“Conditions for changing jobs…”
Ray muttered softly.
“Father, should I change employers?”
“Huh? To the Apellemion family? But isn’t the Penton family controlling it?”
Roy stared at his daughter with wide eyes, unable to follow her train of thought.
Ray merely smirked and shrugged.
“That’s true for now.”
But instinctively, she could feel it.
Something was about to change.
And if Iris was the one who would bring about that change—if Ray could stay close to her and witness it all—
Then perhaps she could find not just survival, but meaning in life itself.
With every step I took, hundreds of eyes followed me.
Slowly descending the stairs, I scanned the ballroom desperately, hoping the man I sought was somewhere within it.
And for a fleeting instant, I thought I had found him.
Until I remembered a different name attached to that crooked smile.
…Prince Baltazar.
Dark blond hair bordering on brown, a face so beautiful it resembled a painting thanks to inheriting his mother’s looks, and violet eyes that appeared almost red at a glance.
The one grinning up at me was the Second Prince, Baltazar.
That snake-like gaze hasn’t changed at all.
The last time I had seen him, he had been laughing gleefully while staring at the ruined crest of Apellemion after the imperial curse had destroyed it.
I turned my eyes toward the people around the Second Prince. Neither the Emperor nor the Empress were in sight.
Barthol’s words from before we departed resurfaced in my mind.
“Today’s banquet is for His Highness the Second Prince. It’s a gathering mainly for noble youths under twenty-five. Which means the person you need to impress is His Highness the Second Prince. If you dare embarrass yourself before him, I’ll tell Mother and have her punish you.”
So today’s event was one of the many lavish parties the Empress had funded to establish her son as the center of high society.
As if to prove it, an extravagant golden statue modeled after the Second Prince stood proudly in the center of the ballroom.
“Anthony, oh my!”
Just as we reached the bottom of the stairs, Demeyra waved toward someone and hurried away.
I too started moving toward one side of the ballroom when a tall young man suddenly stepped in front of me.
“This way, Lady Iris.”
Despite his elegant formalwear, the man carried a delinquent aura.
“It’s far too noisy and crowded here to properly converse with such a beautiful lady.”
Without even asking permission, he grabbed my shoulder and shoved me into a secluded corner behind the staircase.
Several young men standing nearby quickly surrounded me as if helping him, and before I knew it, I was backed against the wall facing four or five men.
It had happened only seconds after I entered the ballroom.
“…Viscount Gideon, what is the meaning of this rudeness?”
“So you recognized me.”
The delinquent-looking youth—young Viscount Damon Gideon—smiled in circles.
“I remember seeing you at the Apellemion tea party last year, my lady. Though I never imagined you would become this beautiful…”
The young men behind him snickered along with him.
“Beautiful? A woman should look at least this good by default, shouldn’t she?”
Barthol, who had somehow followed after us, grinned as he joined the group.
It didn’t take long to realize these were the cronies Barthol usually associated with.
Nor did it take long to understand they had deliberately gathered to provoke me after hearing from Barthol that I was no longer obedient.
“I asked what this rudeness means.”
“The one being rude here is you, my lady.”
Damon Gideon leaned in close enough to make me uncomfortable and whispered:
“Why were you trying to go elsewhere without first greeting His Highness?”
Behind his malicious smile, I saw those nearly blood-red violet eyes appear once more.
“Damon is right.”
“….”
“This is a banquet held by the Imperial Family, is it not? Then naturally, you should greet me, the star of the event, first.”
The Second Prince elegantly took my hand and pressed his lips against the back of it.
As I felt his gaze slowly travel from my head to my feet, goosebumps rose across my skin.
It was the look of someone deciding whether the living being before him should be treated as a person… or prey.
“White skin, deep green eyes, and a green dress to match. It’s not a fashionable design, but somehow it suits you.”
He continued:
“If you dressed up so splendidly, shouldn’t you naturally show yourself to me first?”
“….”
“Greet me.”
When I didn’t answer, he lifted his chin arrogantly and ordered:
“Surely the Lady of Apellemion doesn’t lack even the most basic manners?”
“The Empire’s Third Sun, His Highness the Second Prince.”
I met Baltazar’s eyes as I spoke. Only then did he nod in satisfaction.
“That’s right. Bow your head and—”
“I apologize for being unable to greet you immediately.”
“What?”
Apparently caught off guard by my answer, he frowned deeply.
I smiled faintly and answered once more. It had been a long time since I engaged in noble society, but if he insisted on talking about etiquette, then I had words of my own.
And from the experiences of my first life, I already knew that yielding here would only make the bullying worse.
“As Your Highness commanded, I intend to properly observe imperial etiquette.”
“What are you—”
“There is someone whom I understand should be greeted before Your Highness the Second Prince.”
“…My father and mother are not present.”
Baltazar growled as though he finally understood my meaning.
“You need only obey my words—”
“However, there is still another who stands above Your Highness. If we are to speak of proper etiquette, then naturally I must greet that person first.”
“My lady.”
“The Empire’s Second Sun, His Highness the First Prince, Karsiel.”
I declared it firmly.
“If you have something to say, then speak after that.”
Baltazar’s face twisted instantly, and the young men behind him all fell silent at once.
Creak—
The sound of teeth grinding reached my ears, and I knew with certainty that I had just touched the Second Prince’s greatest sore spot.
